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Excavator Parts in Colorado - Excavator machines are vital for finishing jobs on budget and on time. They are extremely efficient in moving and transporting heavy loads within minutes. These machines are used in landscaping, agricultural applications, road work and bridge work along with the construction industry. While tracked models are sometimes known as trackhoes, excavators go by many names including mechanical shovels, diggers and 360-degree excavators. There are many ways to utilize excavators and their associated attachments including: • Material handling • Construction • Forestry • Digging foundations, holes and trenches • River dredging • Mulching for forestry • Brush cutting with a mower and hydraulic saw attachments • Open pit and regular mining • Snow removal with a snow blower and snowplow attachments • Working with a pile driver for driving piles • Landscaping and grading • Drilling for rock blasting and footings with hydraulic drill or auger attachment • Demolition with breaker, cutter and hydraulic claw attachments An excavator is a popular kind of heavy construction equipment made up of particular parts. The stick or the dipper, cab, boom and bucket are located on top of the house which is a rotating platform. The house is situated on top of an undercarriage that has tracks or wheels. The steam shovels of yesterday have transformed into today’s excavators. The hydraulic excavating models rely on hydraulic fluid to finish all movement and functions. The hydraulic cylinders feature linear actuation making them different from excavators that are cable-operated, relying on steel ropes and winches instead. Excavator Models Hydraulic excavators come in a variety of different models and sizes. Tiny and compact models weigh approximately 2k lbs. while the largest models weigh in around 2m lbs. Three hydraulic pumps are utilized by modern hydraulic models instead of relying on mechanical drivetrain configurations. Two pumps deliver high-pressure oil for the accessories, swing motor, track motors and arms. The third low-pressure pump supplies power for pilot control of the spool valves. This setup enables less physical effort required for the operating controls. The three excavator pumps typically consist of a gear pump and two variable displacement piston pumps. These pumps are arranged in the excavator in a variety of formats depending on different manufacturer models. The House and the Undercarriage The two main aspects of the machine are made by the undercarriage and the house. The final drives with a hydraulic motor and subsequent gears to individual tracks the blade, track frame and tracks are considered undercarriage components. The house consists of the operator cab, the counterweight, hydraulic oil tanks, fuel and the engine. A center pin connects the undercarriage to the house. A hydraulic swivel located at the pin axis supplies high-pressure oils to the hydraulic motors’ tracks. This design allows the excavator to move freely in 360 degrees. The house is attached to the main boom and various configurations are available. The most common type of booms are the mono booms. This type features zero movement besides straight up and down. A knuckle boom is another option which allows it to move right and left in line with the machine. There is a hinge option located at the booms’ base to let it pivot up to 180 degrees independently to the house, usually on available on compact excavators. There are triple articulated booms available on specific machines. A dipper arm is attached to the end of the boom. This arm creates the necessary digging force to drag the bucket through the ground. The stick length is optional depending on if reach or breakout power is needed. Shorter stick models are often utilized for breakout power jobs while longer stick models are used to complete extensive reach situations. At the end of the stick, the bucket is attached. A mud bucket describes a large, wide capacity bucket that has a straight cutting edge used for leveling and cleanup or wherever teeth are not needed. General-purpose bucket designs commonly are used to break up hard ground and difficult rocks, with their side cutters and hardened teeth that are typically smaller and stronger. There are different buckets available in numerous sizes for a variety of applications. There are many attachments used for crushing, boring, cutting, lifting, ripping and more. Prior to the ‘90s, all excavating equipment came with a conventional counterweight that was suspended off of the back of the machine. This was in place to add more lifting capacity and digging force. As one can imagine, this became cumbersome when working within confined spaces. Today’s machines have been designed with the counterweight to stay in the width of the tracks for a much more user-friendly design. In excavators, there are two main kinds of control configuration to operate the bucket and the boom called the ISO and the SAE. This configuration disperses the top four digging controls between two separate y-x joysticks, providing the operator with simultaneous control over all four movements. Certain excavators have switches to allow the operator to decide on which configuration they want to use during operation. Regular excavation and bucket jobs have been surpassed by hydraulic excavators. Many attachments including an auger, a grapple or a breaker have become common hydraulic powered attachments. There are models that offer a quick coupler feature to simplify attachment mounting and increase efficiency. Excavators often work beside loaders and bulldozers. The majority of medium and compact sized wheeled models have a dozer blade or a backfill blade. This horizontal blade attaches to the undercarriage. It is used for pushing and leveling material back into a hole. 8 Main Excavator Types There are eight main kinds of excavators including the dragline, long reach, crawler, bucket wheel, backhoe, steam shovel, skid steer and suction. Steam Shovel Steam shovels are one of the original types of excavators. They utilized steam energy back in the day, while current models rely on diesel or electric motors. Steam shovels are similar to backhoes with the bucket or shovel facing away from the machine instead of facing it. This enables the operator to shove dirt away from the machine instead of pulling earth towards it. Steam shovels are used for digging around objects that may interfere with a typical backhoe. Backhoe Backhoes are one of the most popular kinds of excavators. Backhoes contain a large bucket that extends from a boom or an arm and a wheeled track base. The operator can scoop earth toward the machine as the design has the bucket facing the operator’s cab. There are many kinds of excavators and sizes including heavy-duty applications such as dredging water and bridge construction to compact residential models ideal for backyard landscaping. The more compact units are ideal for accessing smaller spaces and this offers a 200-degree swiveling range for digging close to the machine. Dragline Excavator Dragline excavators are designed similarly to a backhoe and include numerous lines and cables to support the bucket pulling motion. The dragline allows operators to reach farther and dig deeper in comparison to a regular backhoe. The boom and cables allow users to work over unstable or wet ground and where a traditional backhoe would not work. Skid Steer Excavators Skid steers are designed with their booms and buckets facing away from the operator. This design allows attachments to reach over the cab as opposed to around it. This design makes skid steers useful for negotiating tight turns and narrow locations. These machines often complete residential jobs such a digging pools, site cleaning and working in limited surroundings while removing debris. Suction Excavator Resembling a modern dump truck, these special excavators enable operators to use a large hose and vacuum technology to suck rocks and earth out of the ground. The material is moved back to the truck. The suction excavator ensures a safer environment for digging around equipment and underground pipes compared to typical backhoes. Crawler Excavators Crawlers run on two tracks and not wheels. These machines are used in construction and mining operations. Also called compact excavators, these machines rely on hydraulic power components to lift heavy soil and debris. The machine can travel down hills thanks to the chain wheel configuration that makes these machines excellent for difficult and hilly terrain. Crawlers are slower in speed compared to other models but offer superior balance, flexibility and stability. Long Reach Excavators The long reach excavator showcases lengthier boom and arm components. They are ideal for hard-to-reach areas. This machine offers over one hundred feet of horizontal reach. These machines are often used for demolition in applications working over a body of water. Numerous attachments can be attached to the arm to complete jobs including shearing, crushing and cutting. Bucket Wheel Excavator These excavators function with a large front wheel with built-in buckets and shovels. Items such as dirt and rocks become scooped up in the bucket as the wheel rotates. Materials are transferred onto a conveyor belt that makes up a portion of the machine. The belt carries the material into a bin that may be part of the model or separate.